1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wavelength-division multiplexing passive optical network that utilizes bi-directional, optical spectral slicing for two-way transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
Passive optical networks require no active components for directing optical signals between a central office or host digital terminal, and a network subscriber's terminal equipment. Passive optical networks, therefore, require no power or processing in the field to direct optically encoded information to its destination. Typically, a passive optical network includes a first fiber star formed as a plurality of optical paths extending from the central office to a remote node. Downstream optical signals are transmitted from the central office to the remote node, where the signal is passively split and distributed to one of a plurality of units of network subscriber equipment. The network units may transmit optically encoded signals upstream to the remote node to form a multiplexed signal for distribution to the central office. Lasers are generally used to generate light used to form the transmitted light signals.